New Permanent Secretary to the Treasury announced

Tom Scholar has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury.

The Prime Minister has appointed Tom Scholar as the new Permanent Secretary to the HM Treasury, following Sir Nick Macpherson’s announcement that he is to leave the post at the end of March.

Tom, who is currently the Prime Minister’s adviser on European and Global Issues and Head of the European and Global Issues Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, was chosen following an open competition.

Commenting on his new role, Tom said:

I am deeply honoured to have been appointed to this role and thrilled to return to the Treasury.

It is a strong department with exceptionally talented and committed staff, and I look forward to working with them all to support the Chancellor and his team in taking forward the government’s agenda.

Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State George Osborne said:

I’m delighted Tom will become our new Permanent Secretary. Tom is an outstanding civil servant, with experience of advising on some of the biggest challenges facing the country in recent years.

It is a tribute to the British civil service that the field of candidates was so strong. Having worked closely with Tom, I know he will be a great leader of the Treasury and a worthy successor to Nick Macpherson.

I look forward to working with him to deliver the government’s long-term economic plan, in the face of an increasingly turbulent global economy.

Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Jeremy Heywood said:

Nick will of course be a hard act to follow. But having worked closely with Tom for nearly two decades, I am sure that he will do a brilliant job at the Treasury.

He is a superb adviser, with wide experience across the whole range of the Treasury’s domestic and international business; and a great person to work with, who embodies the enduring values of the Civil Service in all that he does

The process to recruit Tom’s replacement as the Prime Minister’s adviser on European and Global Issues and Head of the European and Global Issues Secretariat will start soon.

Further information

Tom Scholar is currently the Prime Minister’s adviser on European and Global Issues, sherpa for the EU, G7 and G20, and Head of the European and Global Issues Secretariat.

Tom joined HM Treasury in 1992 and went on to hold various roles covering economic forecasting, general expenditure policy, foreign exchange reserves and banking supervision.

He was Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1998 to 2001. He then moved to Washington where he was the UK’s Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and Minister (Economic) at the British Embassy.

In 2007 Tom became Chief of Staff and Principal Private Secretary at 10 Downing Street before returning to the Treasury in 2008 as Director General Financial Services.

He was appointed Second Permanent Secretary at the Treasury in 2009, before taking up his current role in 2013.